The right model for governing

Published 4:34 pm, Monday, November 26, 2012

It is easy to see Gov. Dannel Malloy's call for bipartisan cooperation in closing the budget deficit as a play for political cover.

The state is facing a $365 million deficit in the current fiscal year. Closing that gap will be difficult and involve controversial decisions, whether tax increases (which Malloy said he will not seek) or service cuts. Having the opposing party on the hook along with him would take some political heat off of the governor.

But there are good reasons to reach across the aisle that have nothing to do with politics. The job ahead is a difficult one. Not only will the governor be challenged to square the budget without resorting to taxes, he's somewhat handcuffed by a deal he made with unions in which he won concessions on benefits in exchange for a guarantee not to lay off state employees through 2014.

To find a solution to that challenge, the governor needs all the ideas he can get, and that means making partners of minority-party legislators in Hartford.

Seeking budget-cutting ideas, Benjamin Barnes, the governor's budget chief, has already reached out to leaders on both sides. He is to meet with Republicans on Dec. 4.

This actually is how government should work all of the time, regardless of the party in power. Put more and a wider range of ideas on the table. Focus on problems, not elections. Getting both sides involved should also should reduce political grandstanding and fear mongering during what will be a difficult process in Hartford under the best of circumstances.

Republicans appeared to welcome the governor's call for cooperation, if warily.

"There are two models," said House Minority Leader Lawrence F. Cafero Jr., R-Norwalk. "The first is you get a visit and the governor or Ben Barnes brings a single piece of paper, asks for ideas, says `thank you very much' and then we hear nothing. The second, like the (2010) jobs package, caucus leaders, staff and the leaders of the committees of cognizance meet regularly and work out a bipartisan bill. I am not interested in the first model."

Nor should he be. Now is the time for Hartford, all of Hartford, to rise above politics. Don't worry about who can be blamed. Don't worry about who gets credit. Worry about nothing but the difficult and complicated job at hand.